Adding a digital timer to a cable release camera

Here’s a completely non-invasive hack for a classic Minolta SLR camera. [Robby] wanted to add to the options available when it comes to remote shutter release. He ended up building a cable release add-on that mounts on the hot shoe.

He drew some of his inspiration from a similar project we saw back in March. He took the engineering example from that project which uses a small servo motor to actuate the cable release. But along the way added his own features.

The system centers around an ATtiny4313 microcontroller. It provides feedback using the character LCD on the back of the auxiliary flash body. That flash body also offers a battery compartment which provides power for the control circuitry as well as the servo motor. Right now it functions as a count-down timer, and also can hold the shutter a specified amount of time. But we could see this extended to work with external sensors to trigger at a set light level, when sensing motion, or from a remote control.

3 thoughts on “Adding a digital timer to a cable release camera”

I have had luck just removing the piezo speaker on a cheapo timer and putting a diode on the + to make sure it gets piped thru so to speak. As usual wire to both sides of a button pad and run to 1/8″ or mini plug to camera body housing. You can then add the timer as you like or put it in your pocket or whatever. I daresay that a passthru “one shot” is possible too.